Most tourists visiting Orcas Island have Moran State Park on their travel itinerary. With nearly 40 miles of hiking trails, several lakes, scenic picnic vistas, and home to the highest point in the San Juan Islands offering a stunning view at 2,409…

The northwestern tip of San Juan Island formed part of the Whelaalk territory of a Coast Salish Lhaq'temish, or Lummi, community until its occupation by British and American settlers in the 1800s. In its early days of settlement, the harbor…

Before working his way up the Army ranks and rising to unlikely fame as an author, Henry M. Robert played a crucial role at San Juan Island's American Camp. Robert arrived on San Juan Island on August 23, 1859. Then a second lieutenant, the U.S. Army…

Among the activities available to visitors of Moran State Park, fishing is high on the list for many avid outdoorsmen. Though there are several species of fish within the lake, Kokanee salmon are coveted as one of the best catches. Despite this,…

In 1961, over a century after the events of the Pig War, San Juan Island was once again the site of military action. Rather than a tense standoff between two nations, the occasion this time was a military exercise—named “Sea Wall”—conducted by the US…

San Juan Town, sometimes called San Juan Village, quickly sprang up at Griffin Bay to meet soldiers’ demand for leisure activities during joint occupation. A reporter for the Daily Alta California, who visited the island in 1859, described a tiny…

As Euroamericans conquered the North American continent, their most effective weapons were not guns or steel, but microbes. Smallpox in particular had devastating effects on Natives, who had no natural immunity to the disease. According to…

By the time Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) head James Douglas first scouted the harbor in 1843, Esquimalt already had a long human history.  A corruption of the Coast Salish word “es-whoy-malth,” meaning “the place of gradually shoaling water,” The vast…

The joint occupation of San Juan Island was a boring experience for Mary Allen, wife of Maj. Harvey Allen, commander of American Camp from 1867-8. After initial threats of war cooled, British and American troops settled into an uneventful occupation…

Today Orcas Island is known for scenic hiking, quaint artist studios, and farm-to-table dining, but the island wasn’t always best known for these features. While produce is still grown on the island, fruit farms used to dominate the landscape of…

Despite years of successful farming of apples, plums, and other fruit species regularly found in Washington, the Great Depression brought a challenge and then an innovative solution to Orcas Island. The twenties and thirties on Orcas Island…

People like Israel Katz saw a business opportunity in the Pig War. Katz, born and raised in Germany, travelled across the world to join his brother Solomon and work at his grocery store in Port Townsend. Soon after, Israel crossed the Strait of Juan…

Puget Sound is a diverse marine habitat with significant ecological, cultural, and economic importance for people all across Washington. Although there are slight discrepancies among definitions, simply put, a sound is a narrow passage of water…

Native peoples living on Orcas Island and the surrounding islands were not year-round residents so much as they were occasional occupants taking advantage of the local seasonal bounties. Long-established tribal lore included knowledge of the salmon…

Popeye is a female harbor seal commonly spotted at the Port of Friday Harbor. She’s got one blind, milky eye (hence her name) and she’s become something of a local celebrity. Popeye was originally attracted to the harbor by food scraps dumped by…

Education proved a challenge on the remote San Juan Islands. The one-room schoolhouse on Orcas Island was opened in 1888, a year before Washington became a state. Peter Freshette donated 1.8 acres of land to the school district for the construction…

Built in 1935-36, the tower on Mount Constitution takes center stage on the highest point in the San Juan Islands and is the star of Moran State Park. Visitors to the 53-foot fire lookout/observation tower are rewarded with spectacular 360-degree…

An old-growth forest – also known as a primary forest or primeval forest – refers to a forest that has reached a significant age without significant disturbance, such as a devastating wildfire or logging. With a variety of tree species that range in…

Interaction is a contemporary carving created by Musqueam Coast Salish artist Susan A. Point. Located at Friday Harbor’s Fairweather Park, this sculpture “represents a healing chapter in local history.” The sculpture is made from two cedar posts and…

During the first half of the 1800s, the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) expanded their fur-trading empire establishing forts, farms, and warehouses in the Pacific Northwest. At this time the HBC shipping routes extended throughout the British empire, and…

Prohibition took hold in Washington state in 1916, but failed to eliminate the state’s thirst for alcohol. Bootleggers were all too happy to quench the thirst, and smuggling whiskey from Canada became commonplace. Rumrunners operated throughout the…

Americans began to fortify San Juan Island even before the Joint Occupation Agreement of 1859. Anticipating war with Britain, they chose the site of Camp San Juan accordingly. Set on a high exposed hill overlooking Griffin Bay and the Strait of Juan…

Evidence suggests that the Coast Salish peoples of San Juan Island took an active part in managing and modifying the ecosystem they lived in. This included controlled forest burnings, where the dense forests of the island were purposefully set on…

In the early days of white settlement in the San Juans, marriages and less formal arrangements between white men and native women were not uncommon. Though some ended sadly, others, like that of Anna and Christopher Rossler, were happy and lasting…

Rising from the ashes of the remains of the San Francisco ferry Peralta in 1933, Black Ball Line’s new ferry would be an inspiration to all who saw her. Kalakala (pronounced kah-LOCK-ah-lah), is Chinook for flying bird, a name that would describe the…